Decanting: A Philosophy

It's time to start decanting your young wines

Wine connoisseurs, whether professionals or wine lovers, are divided over the process of decanting. When is wine best decanted and which wines benefit from it – or is this simply a matter of taste?

Many wine lovers decant their wines to allow them to breathe; that is, expose them to oxygen so that the aromas can develop. But we believe that wines are still decanted too rarely – and often only restricted to red wines.

Traditionally, only mature red wines were decanted in order to separate any sediments and tartrate crystals, sometimes called wine diamonds, from the wine. However young red wines can also benefit from decanting, as the aeration makes them smoother and rounder, speeding up the ageing process to delight our taste buds. In addition to this, white wines and even champagne can also benefit from decanting.

Which wines should be decanted?

The rules of decanting are based less on colour, and more on age and structure. Simply put, any wine that would benefit from ageing can be decanted. That includes red wines, white wines and even champagne.

Young wines will taste smoother and more mature when decanted as exposure to oxygen burns off the sulfides in wine, revealing more flavour through greater aromatic expression. These younger wines can afford a more vigorous decant to enliven them; Riedel’s Snake decanters with their double decanting function are perfect for this job.

Mature wines should be decanted gently with caution. Depending on the age of the wine and how it is been stored in its life, excessive oxidation begins to diffuse the aroma and strip the wine of character. Simple decanters or carafes are suitable for aged red wines, such as the Riedel Cornetto, Syrah or O Single.

Decanting is above all an experience. With our Snake decanters, pouring wine becomes part of the enjoyment!

Our Snake decanters are the perfect instrument for the enjoyment of wine and add incredible theatre to your dining setting. Riedel’s Snake decanters – Mamba, Eve, Evechen and Boa – are handmade and feature a double aeration function, which allows for the optimal, intensive aeration and perfect portioning of wine. They combine spectacular design with excellent functionality.

Mamba – extravagant and efficient

Mamba is modelled on the elegant black mamba, the fastest snake in the world, whose energy and vigour inspired this decanter’s seductive design. The way that the wine flows through its several chambers means it is double decanted and intensively aerated – an effect that can only be achieved after several hours in a traditional decanter.

The long neck is ideal for pouring and has an additional vitalising effect when wine is served. The ceremony of service is accompanied by a sonorous glugging sound – audible evidence not only of perfect aeration, but also of the wine’s vitality.

Eve – sensual and patented functionality

Eve is an extravagant carafe with a striking design, and a reference to Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden. But this handmade decanter is more than pleasing to the eye. Its double aeration function allows for wine to be perfectly aerated and portioned so serving becomes a true experience!

Once moved around its own axis, the wine is aerated through the first chamber, before the ideal quantity of wine reaches the second chamber. This one-of-a-kind combination of aeration and portion control, developed by Maximilian J. Riedel, ensured the Eve decanter received worldwide patent protection in May 2009. Eve is an art object that gives the greatest pleasure, accompanied by the same audible glugging sound as the Mamba.

Evechen decanter– seduction in a handy size

The Evechen decanter is a smaller, but no less enticing version of the successful Eve decanter – and just as functional. Handmade in Tyrol like Eve, it impresses with its handy size.

Boa – elegant and upstanding

The handmade decanter was designed to celebrate the Year of the Snake, which represents power, among other qualities. The Boa features a more tightly-coiled body than previously designed Riedel Snake Decanters, and brings wines to full flavor profile potential with its double decanted design.

For the Boa, designer Maximilian J. Riedel took inspiration from his travels throughout North and South America, the native home of the boa constrictor. To introduce the decanter, Maximilian developed the first-ever web-ready video, a cartoon detailing RIEDEL’s celebration of glassware’s many functional forms. Click here to see it!